Obama NSA Nominee Defends Mass Surveillance Of Americans

The president’s “reforms” of the NSA continue apace, as his pick to become the new head of the agency today defended mass spying on Americans, saying it is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks.

Responding to questions from Senators, Vice Admiral Michael Rogers stated that it is imperative that the NSA have access to vast amounts of metadata, in order that the government can keep Americans safe.

Rogers argued that section 215 of the Patriot Act should remain intact and the spooks should not be hindered from using it to justify mass surveillance.
“The telephone metadata program under Section 215 was designed to map the communications of terrorists so we can see who they may be in contact with as quickly as possible,” Rogers said.